Plan a fiesta to celebrate graduation

MRT

Published 5:11 am, Wednesday, May 29, 2013

By Joan Huff

Congratulations to the class of 2013! Celebrate graduation with a fiesta for your special senior. Mexican food is typically a great choice to serve for a party because it is so popular. Finger foods are easy for serving and eating and you don't have to set a table.

The layered dip can be prepared using mason jars or in a Pyrex dish. The jars make it easy for people eating it because they can pick up a little jar and some chips. The recipe for empanadas makes large portions, but you can determine the size by cutting smaller pieces of dough.

I recently made the jalapeno hot popper dip for a party (the recipe is from a friend in Kansas) and you do need to add four to six jalapenos. I only added 3 and it was not spicy enough for our taste.

For dessert, you may want to order a cake with your graduate's name or picture on it or make cookies with 2013 on them. The Sopapillas Cheesecake bars continue the Mexican theme for dessert. Party stores have decorations that can be put on cakes and cupcakes. If you are short on time, you could buy chocolate Swiss Cake rolls and tie ribbons around them to look like diplomas.

In a small bowl, add beans and seasoning. Mix to combine. Into a separate bowl, mash avocado and season with salt. To assemble, equally divide between 6 small Mason jars beans, sour cream, avocado. Smooth each layer before moving to the next. Equally divide between jars: tomatoes, cheese, green onion and olives. Serve with tortilla chips.

Combine all of the ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Stir well. Transfer mixture to oven safe dish. The size dish I used made my dip to be about 1 inch deep. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle all over the top of the dip. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with Doritos.

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

From Allrecipes

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup salsa

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 Tablespoons butter, divided

8 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes; mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, then top with some of the bean mixture. Place another tortilla on top, cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Melt more butter as needed, and repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Heat the oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Thoroughly mix the beef, bread crumbs, egg, garlic and 1/4 cup picante sauce in a large bowl. Shape the mixture firmly into 40 (1-inch) meatballs. Place the meatballs onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, turning them over once halfway through the bake time.

Heat the remaining picante sauce and jelly in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to 1 cup. Stir in the thyme, if desired. Add the meatballs to the skillet and cook until the meatballs are hot, stirring occasionally. Serve the meatballs with toothpicks.

The meatballs can be prepared and baked up to 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Before serving, prepare the picante-jelly mixture and add the meatballs to the skillet. Cook until the meatballs are hot, stirring occasionally.

Heat oven to 350. Unroll 1 can dough. Place in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch glass baking dish. Stretch to cover bottom of dish, firmly pressing perforations to seal. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 cup of the sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Spread over dough in baking dish. Unroll second can of dough. Carefully place on top of cream cheese layer. Pinch seams together.

Pour melted butter evenly over top. Mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over butter. Bake about 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate for easy cutting. Cover and refrigerate any remaining bar